Panthers remain red hot at home besting the Oceanside Generals on Friday evening

The start of the current 2014/15 season was nothing to write home about however, the Management of the Peninsula Panthers knew that better times were ahead.  Icing a squad of mostly first-year players, the Panthers went through the usual growing pains however, as of late they seem to have found the magic that they felt was going to surface at some point. 

On Thursday evening in Esquimalt, the Panthers came in against the South Division leading Victoria Cougars as decided underdogs but after playing hard for the entire 60 minutes they ended up on top in the Cat fight by a 4-1 count.  The win broke a 9-game winning streak the Cougars were riding and it also proved to be the 1st time this season that the Esquimalt Cats had been beaten on their home ice.  18-year-old Alex Olson was between the pipes for the Panthers and the Club having instituted a "Win and you're in" motto for the goaltending tandem of Olson and Kaelan LaBlanc, Olson once again drew the start against his former Club, the Oceanside Generals.  Last season Olson was a young 17-year-old who was signed by the Generals however, a rotator cuff injury ended his season early and he was let go by that Organization.  And Olson was certainly the Peninsula Panthers player who was most looking forward to the meeting.

And on Friday night at the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre, the Club etched themselves their 3rd win in a row and their 5th in their last six games on home ice, this time knocking off their North Division foes 5-1.  The Panthers were full value for the win and had the Generals marching to their orders for most of the night.

A confident group took to the ice for warmup and once the sheet was greased and young Clayton Butler had belted out his version of the National Anthem, the Panthers looked like a confident and poised group that was ready to get the win as they lined up at centre ice for the opening face-off.  And it did not take long to get the party started.  At the 6:43 mark of the 1st frame Braedan Pearce found Kai Turner in behind the Oceanside defence and a perfect pass sent the lanky 18-year-old in home free.  Turner made a cute move to the backhand and deposited the disk over an outstretched Riley Mathieson tending goal for the Generals.  And under three minutes later Josh Poland received a pass from Nathan Looysen and walked from the corner to the front of the net.  He waited and waited and finally sent a backhand past Mathieson to give the home Club a two goal lead with less than ten minutes being played.  16-year-old Conner Mowatt scored perhaps the prettiest goal of the evening when at the 17:15 mark he watched Looysen move the puck to Sjerven who was boring down the left side.  Sjerven sent some sweet backhand sauce from the left wall over a couple defenders stick and onto Mowatt's twig and he barged in on Mathieson.  The puck squirted by giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead and it appeared as though the romp was on.  But only 50 seconds later a defensive miscue deep in the Panthers end left Jordan Bautista in front of Panthers netminder Alex Olson and he made no mistake making it a 3-1 game at the break.

The 2nd period solved nothing.  The Panthers dominated the 20 minute stanza but could not solve the Generals netminder and Olson was equal to the task in his own end.

It was all Panthers in the 3rd and it was Looysen who would be first to make another dint in the armour of the Generals.  At the 3:59 mark Looysen received a puck which was chipped by an Oceanside defender at the Panthers blueline and the crafty and skilled 18-year-old winger picked it up in full flight in the neutral zone.  He danced in on the lone defender before snapping a shot on the short side to surprise Mathieson.  And it was Pearce who would put the final nail in the coffin when at the 13:41 mark he ripped the puck from a sharp angle on what might have been the shot of the night.  Turner was in on the goal.

The Panthers outshot the visitors 29 to 22 on the evening and were full value for the 5-1 win.  Olson, Pearce and Cody Allison - who was killing penalties and buzzing all night long - were named as the games three stars.

"It was a big win for our Club," explained Coach Rob Mortin.  "We beat a good Club in a tough barn last night and we just did not want to suffer a letdown coming back home tonight.  We are heading back into the Archie Browning Arena on Sunday afternoon and if we had dropped this game tonight it would have been really tough on everyone.  The kids responded, we are really pleased having won three in a row and five of our last six at home and we are all looking forward to the game on Sunday afternoon."

The Panthers are back at home next Friday night when they host the visiting Comox Valley Glacier Kings.  The Glacier Kings support a great record and have a skilled and speedy lineup and the Panthers will have their hands full.  The puck is set to drop next Friday at the Panorama Recreation Centre at the usual 7:30 pm.